To evaluate the impact of various antihypertensive drugs on secondary stroke prevention in a real-life setting.
Nationwide historic cohort study.
French healthcare system data (SNDS).
Adults hospitalised for ischaemic stroke between 2014 and 2015 were followed up until December 2021 and stratified based on the presence of atrial fibrillation (AF).
Risk of stroke recurrence was assessed using a time-dependent Cox cause-specific model accounting for changes in drug exposure. We also investigated the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) or all-cause death. Models were adjusted on stroke characteristics, coprescriptions and co-morbidities, at inclusion and across follow-up.
Among 54 764 patients without AF (median age 71; 46% women) and 17 960 with AF (median age 79; 51% women), stroke recurrence occurred in 11% and 13%, respectively. In non-AF patients, reduced recurrence risk was associated only with use of calcium channel blockers (adjusted HR (aHR) 0.91, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.97), thiazide diuretics (aHR 0.90, 95% CI 0. 83 to 0.97), loop diuretics (aHR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.95) and potassium-sparing agents (aHR 0.83, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.98). In AF patients, only potassium-sparing agents (aHR 0.82, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.99) were associated with reduced recurrence risk. All antihypertensive drugs, apart from loop diuretics, were associated with a reduced risk of MACE or all-cause death.
In this large cohort, only diuretics and calcium channel blockers were associated with a reduced risk of recurrent stroke. Most antihypertensive drugs, however, may be more effective in overall cardiovascular prevention.
With growing access to the internet, online mindfulness programmes have become more commonly used to manage physical and mental health conditions. This scoping review aims to determine the nature and extent of the literature, and key characteristics, of online mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) for adults with physical or mental health conditions.
A scoping review guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute framework.
MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, Allied and Complementary Medicine and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.
Studies focusing on online MBIs, online mindfulness-based stress reduction and online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in adults with a physical or mental health condition were included.
Study and participant characteristics, key intervention characteristics, outcome measures and results were abstracted.
84 studies were included. Online MBIs have been studied in many different physical and mental health conditions; however, 63 of the included studies were for physical health conditions. MBCT was the most common intervention type assessed, with 33 of the included studies assessing it. Regarding intervention characteristics, intervention duration was similar across intervention type at 8 weeks, with sessions led by therapists, clinicians or mindfulness instructors. Web-based and videoconferencing were the most common delivery formats. Intervention content generally remained similar to standardised MBIs, with the addition of psychoeducation and disease management. Many studies did not report on tailoring the intervention to the participant population. There was a lack of consistency in reporting intervention characteristics.
This review highlights some evidence for online mindfulness programmes for both physical and mental health conditions. However, intervention componentry remains somewhat obscure, and reporting on tailoring appears relatively sparse. Greater consistency in reporting intervention componentry will improve knowledge and study in this area and enhance the translation of these interventions to clinical settings.
To determine how high performing is defined in relation to a health system and chart the literature on the definitions and key concepts of high-performing healthcare systems.
Scoping review.
MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception to July 2024. The grey literature was also searched.
Included studies reported on health systems and high performance to identify explicit definitions, research outcomes and knowledge gaps.
Two reviewers independently screened 5721 citations and 507 full-text articles, resulting in the inclusion of 35 primary articles and 47 companion documents in the review. Three independent definitions for a high-performance health system were identified. 24 research studies reported outcomes on the elements of a high-performing health system (58%), system evaluation (32%) and tool development or validation (10%). Knowledge gaps identified were the lack of a common definition, a lack of common indicators, strategies for moving evidence into policy and practice, and difficulties with comparisons across health systems.
We found limited definitions and a lack of empirical evidence on our topic. There is an opportunity for primary research in the area of health systems and high performance.